Ms. Me

@marsxstars

Reader. TV watcher. Anti-all of the isms that plague us. Fan of blueberry muffins & general badassery. Happily married recovered undercover overlover. She/Her. Pan. Book curator. Wanna talk about sci-fi tv, speculative fiction, music, art & corny jokes?

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Bluesky

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Ms. Me@marsxstars· 23d

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Jul 10

Done!

Suggest a Purchase page on a library website. Standard white background with black letters and form boxes to fill in info.

Suggest a Purchase page on a library website. Standard white background with black letters and form boxes to fill in info. Required items include book title, authors, format, etc. Title, Author, Publisher, Publication Date are filled in to request OP's book.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Jun 20

Physically I'm here. But mentally I'm imagining a 10-episode spinoff of a show I watched a year ago because the best character only got 1 episode of screentime and her story could be fertile ground for storytelling in so many ways.

Joy, a fictional Black woman dev who created an algorithm to incentivize mutual aid and community care.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Jun 19

These businesses gotta know sending an email with a "Celebrate Juneteenth with FREE shipping" subject line gives this energy

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Jun 1

Meme with a guy standing next to a whiteboard with a marker in his hand like he’s finishing up a presentation. The white board is overlaid with text that says “In conclusion,” and has an image pansexual flag underneath it to finish the sentence.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Jun 1

Happy Pride🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

A meme of the fastest things things on earth:

- a cheetah
- an airplane
- the speed of light
- my heart rate after saying I’m pansexual and awaiting the “so you’re attracted to pans”comments

Ms. Me@marsxstars· May 4

This look feels like it's in conversation with this post

Quote tweet by off perx bein a wallflower
@/rscxxxdestart that reads "why is everyone’s afrofuturism so tied to technology, industry, the colonization of space and other western ideas of 'progress'? whose afro-future is a return to land and community?"

The original post reads
@/PMPCESSDIARY
"𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 🪐
— it’s the past and the future in conversation: ancestral roots wrapped in cosmic dreams, black stories told beyond limits, beyond earth, beyond now ✧"

The post includes 4 photos, 3 of which are iconic afrofuturist images.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Apr 27

The native plants feed no longer works (for me?) and I got this message to let you know but I can't DM you @beechhollow.bsky.social 😩 Do you know if anyone else is having this issue or how to fix it?

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Apr 18

Managed to stay up for both this time

A BW wearing a shirt that says "old bitches winning"

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Mar 26

Came across these sketches of old buildings in the Black community in St. Mary's county from an old cookbook. Feels like a crossover episode for my special interests.

Black and white drawing of two large buildings in a rural setting (one in the foreground) and a path that connects them both. The main building has two-stories and the structural supports in the front indicate an addition was built on top of an original structure. Beneath the drawing is the caption:

ST. PETER CLAVER CHURCH AND CONVENT-1918
First St. Peter Clover church was erected in 1814 to serve the Black congregation of St. Ignoes Parish. The church was dedicated in 1918. The convent was erected in 1924 with an addition in 1928.

Black and white drawing of a small, rustic building with two entrances and basic stairs. Beneath the drawing is the caption:
OLD BUDDS CREEK SCHOOL
Old Budds Creek School is one of approximately 25 one and two room schools attended by Blacks in St. Mary's County prior to 1956.

Black and white drawing of a stately building with columns, terraces, and architectural flourishes. The entrance is flanked by topiaries and to the right of the building is a large tree. Below the drawing the caption reads:

CARDINAL GIBBONS INSTITUTE
1924
Cardinal Gibbons Institute, modelled after the Tuskegee project, was the first Black high school in St. Mary's County. The school was established in 1924 and served the community until 1967.

Black and white drawing of a sizable one-story building with 12 windows across the front. Below the drawing is the caption:

BANNEKER SCHOOL
Banneker School, Loveville, MD was erected in 1930. Black countians donated the land and completed the construction of the building. This school served the northern area of St. Mary's County until a new structure was erected in 1950 on the same site.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Mar 22

Reminds me of a passage from Robin Wall Kimmerer's book, "Serviceberry"

Square image with a pale pink background overlaid with a darker pink sketch of two hands holding a serviceberry plant. Over top of the sketch is a quote that reads: This pail of [Serviceberries] represents hundreds of gift exchanges that led up to my blue-stained fingers: the Maples who gave their leaves to the soil, the countless invertebrates and microbes who exchanged nutrients and energy to build the humus in which a Serviceberry seed could take root, the Cedar Waxwing who dropped the seed, the sun, the rain, the early spring flies who pollinated the flowers, the farmer who wielded the shovel to tenderly settle the seedlings. They are all parts of the gift exchange by which everyone gets what they need.

- Robin Wall Kimmerer”

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Mar 17

Not A Lot of Reasons to Sing But Enough by Kyle Tran Myhre

The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps Volume 7: Africana Philosophy From Ancient Egypt to the 19th Century by Peter Adamson and Chike Jeffers

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Mar 13

Poignant black and white photo of Black jazz musician Elvin Jones, dressed in a dark suit jacket, white shirt, and dark tie. His eyes closed and face awash in sweat & rapture. One of photographer Roy DeCarava's signature jazz portraits, Jones' head is tilted and would disappear into shadow if not for the poetic light that catches his brow and cheekbones to give us a glimpse of the sweat that streams over them.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Mar 13

"According to Kavanaugh’s concurrence in that decision, this rationale extends to any “reasonable suspicion, based on specific articulable facts, that the person being questioned…is an alien illegally in the United States.” As such, ICE was effectively also permitted to use the fact that someone ‘looks’ trans—regardless of whether or not they actually are—as the “specific articulable fact” allowing its officers to question, harass, detain, and even deport both citizens and non-citizens—as long as it has a reason to claim that being trans makes a person more likely to be in the US illegally.

Now, the Trump administration has given ICE the reason it needs. Under this rule, ICE agents now have the enforcement rationale to assert that trans people—especially those belonging to racial minority groups—are more likely than cis people to have “misrepresented” themselves during the visa process and, therefore, are more likely to have entered the country “unlawfully.” Like the other factors ICE uses, this will burden both citizens and non-citizens, as ICE cannot reliably determine whether or not a person is a citizen without physically checking their documents.

Thus, ICE will be free to scrutinize trans people’s documents and detain those whose documents show any inconsistencies—where they face a heightened risk of sexual violence now that ICE has removed the protections for trans people in its custody and additionally have their medications withheld. Given that Kansas has left its trans residents with no way to identify themselves after it revoked their documents, this also has the potential to burden the state’s trans community with another devastating repercussion of the extreme law."

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Feb 17

reminds me of a post that said we are gardens that need to be refreshed with the waters of myth, poetry, fiction, folklore, and leisure

Screenshot of a quote repost by @SketchesbyBoze that reads "People keep saying 'maybe the human brain is just a glorified computer' when the truth is, as Joy says, you're more like a garden that needs to be constantly refreshed with the waters of myth, poetry, fiction, folklore, and leisure."

The original post says "you are not a machine. you are more like a garden. you need different things on different days. a little sun today. a little less water tomorrow. you have fallow and fruitful seasons. it is not a design flaw. it is wiser than perpetual sameness. what does your garden need today?"

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Feb 13

When the soju hits and now you're yell-singing your favorite song 😭

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Dec 22

Right up there with publishing AI-generated articles about "slang words from Black Twitter".

Screenshot from the article linked in the post with the relevant part highlighted. The article investigates whether AI was used by a writer to fabricate articles and pitches. One sentence mentions that she published an article about Black Twitter slang. It is the same sort of selling out of our culture that the guy behind the AI gospel artist is doing. Taking community cultural creations, whether slang or music, and using it for personal gain.

The highlighted part of the article reads as follows:

A story she published in October headlined “20 iconic slang words from Black Twitter that shaped pop culture”—which was syndicated across dozens of small-town American newspapers desperate for content, from northeast Mississippi to Waynesville, North Carolina—contains lines like “‘Brazy’ is another word for ‘crazy,’ replacing the ‘c’ with a ‘b.’”

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Dec 9

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Dec 9

They really played in my face with my Black country playlist though. Missing 56 songs is diabolical.

Error details showing 56 whole ass errors. Four songs marked "Not found":

She's Got You by Rhiannon Giddens

Tennessee Time by Valerie June

Girl in Blue by Karen McCormick

Brown Boots by Stoney Edwards

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Dec 9

It's probably licensing and distribution and who owns masters and who is indie now vs. being on a bigger label earlier in their career and what artists know to put their music on there. Different decades, different artists, different genres but still random missing songs.

Error details view showing three songs marked "Not found":

By Your Side by Maxine Ashley

Don't Judge Me by Janelle Monáe

Body by Sinéad Harnett

Error log showing 22 errors found in a music playlist transfer. Four songs marked "Not found":

"More Than I Can Bear" by Kirk & GP

"That Name" by Yolanda Adams

"Oh Lord How Excellent Is Thy Name" by The Blue Gospel Singers

"Anthem Of Praise - Richard Smallwood

Error details view showing four songs marked "Not found":

"Tonight Is the Night - Live" by Betty Wright

"Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong" by The Whispers

"A Song For Donny" by The Whispers

"Make Me Say It Again Girl, Pts. 1 & 2" by The Isley Brothers

Four songs marked "Not found":

Just A Touch Of Love by C & C Music Factory

Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65

All Around The World

If You Could Read My Mind by Stars On 54

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Dec 9

I didn't really expect them to have the super old gospel and stuff like that. So it wasn't surprising that it came back with a bunch of songs not found. Most playlists came back with like 5 or 6 songs unavailable. Some a bit more. It really just depends.

One of four screenshots of a list of songs from playlists made on Spotify that wasn't available on Audiomack. The background is black and there's light grey text listing each song and artist.

Error list shows 8 errors found in a music playlist transfer. Shows four songs marked "Not found":

"No Sittin' By The Phone" by Vivian Green

'Til The End Of Time" by Timothy Bloom & V. Bozeman

"Outside Your Door" by Meshell Ndegeocello

"Cab Ride" by Tweet

Error list shows 14 errors. Four songs marked "Not found":

"Texas All-stars"

"Hold Up" by Chalie Boy & Tite

"Still Tippin' - Screwed & Chopped" by Mike Jones

"International Players Anthem"

Error details showing 21 errors found. Four songs marked "Not found":

"Somebody Prayed for Me" by Dorothy Norwood with the Georgia Mass Choir

"Ninety-Nine-and-a-Half Won't Do" by Carlton Reese

"Lily in the Valley - John P. Kee and the VIP Mass Choir

"God Has Smiled On Me" by Rev. Milton Biggham

Error details showing 9 errors found. Four songs marked "Not found":

"It's Christmas Time" by Kevin Ross, Smokey Robinson, etc.

"Hallelujah" - Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration

"Holy Is The Lamb" by Oleta Adams

"Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem" by The Supremes

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Nov 25

Wale's band is so good on his Front Porch concert. And he had a guy painting D'Angelo throughout the performance (our ancestor veneration shows up in so many ways 🥹). And J'ta killed the end of Bad.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Nov 5

Preorder came in the mail 🙌🏾 Gonna settle in with some tea and read it tonight

A brown paper bag lays on top of a floral notebook, the top folded down and sealed with a piece of yellow piece of tape, and contains Kelly Hayes’ new book “Read This When Things Fall Apart”. The yellow tape is stamped with a small drawing of a flower in red ink. The bag has also been stamped with an image of a rose in blue ink and the words “Pilsen Community Books” arch over it. Beneath the rose are the words “A better world is possible”

Read This When Things Fall Apart on top of the brown paper bag it came in and a forest green blanket. A green envelope sealed with a gold sticker sticks out of the side of the book. It contains a note written by the author.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Oct 30

This kinda reminds me of when D'Angelo briefly mentioned the punk/rock/metal scene in DC & VA in an interview and how down in Richmond they would have a battle of the bands and he just wanted to be good enough to be in a band

An excerpt from Ralph Ellison's Shadow and Act essay: "Some of the most brilliant of jazzmen made no records; their names appeared in print only in announcements of some local dance or remote "battles of music" against equally uncelebrated bands. Being devoted to an art which traditionally thrives on improvisation, these unrecorded artists very often have their most original ideas enter the public domain almost as rapidly as they are conceived to be quickly absorbed into the thought and technique of their fellows. Thus the riffs which swung the dancers and the band on some transcendent evening, and which inspired others to competitive flights of invention, become all too swiftly a part of the general style, leaving the originator as anonymous as the creators of the architecture called Gothic."

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Oct 29

I wish we had a full, polished version with D'Angelo. Would've loved to hear his vocals with the lyrics Musiq sang in the Phrenology version. Also would've loved if the Soulquarians album came to fruition.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Oct 24

She really ate this. And him playing the guitar behind his own back is 🔥

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Aug 3

"I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back. I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do."

A poem, "Famous" by Naomi Shihab Nye, that reminds us to never forget what we can do.

It reads:
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Aug 3

"I know you expect me to bless you in the mysteries of God, but I prefer the strangeness of each other, darlings. Look around.”

A poem (from the book "Kitchen Hymns" by Pádraig O’Tuama) entitled "Opening Words at Ash Wednesday Mass".

It reads:
Darlings, look around.
Next to you's the nurse, the cleaner, the doctor, the child-minder, the waiting, the hoping, the barely surviving, the can't-get-out-of-bed-can't-sleep-can't-cope. There's the teacher out of work, the disaffected priest, the taxi driver, the shopkeeper, broke shareholder, tourists, retirees, waitresses, bankers, administrators, the tired and committed, the excited and the stressed.

I know you expect me to bless you in the mysteries of God,
but I prefer the strangeness of each other, darlings. Look around.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Aug 3

"Ask yourself and ask each other: Of what future are these the wild, early days? Let us braid all the threads between us into a wick. Let the fire that was always there, waiting for this moment, finally find its way home."

Excerpt from a piece titled “Blessing (All the Threads Between Us)” from the book “Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough” by Kyle Tran Myhre. It reads:

We choose to fight, not because we have done the math and know what is going to happen tomorrow. We choose to fight because we do not know. We choose to fight because doubt is real, and faith is real, and hope is real, and none of them are as real as our hands, as the neighbor standing next to us, as the ancestors watching over our shoulders.

It is possible to walk right up to oblivion, spit over the edge, and not fall into it. And the only heroes I've known did that, every day: wore their doubt not as armor but as ornament, a taunt aimed at all who would devour them, saying I have felt this poison inside for so long; swallow me and taste it.
It's not much of a battle cry. But words matter less than the lungs that move them. Fighter isn't a philosophy. Organizer isn't an aesthetic. Ally isn't an identity. Tomorrow, what we should have done will be worth exactly what it's worth now: wind, and not even enough wind to move a piece of ash from here to there.

So tonight: Be real. Tell your story and listen to oth-ers. Feel what you feel, and choose to act anyway, to show up, to resist.

Ask yourself and ask each other:
Of what future are these the wild, early days?

Let us braid all the threads between us into a wick.
Let the fire that was always there, waiting for this moment, finally find its way home.

Ms. Me@marsxstars· Jul 23

Like, okay. Got all that. But you can’t make (good, effective) satire about giving up rights when 51% of y’all voted to give up rights in real gotdamned life and physical abuse shouldn’t be diminished and in a fucking punchline. Don’t pmo.